21st century heathen

What a shame a few couldn't put their bias aside. Lee was ill, that was obvious, and he gave it everything he had. He may have had a couple of re-runs, but that's speedway. It wasn't his fault the races were re-run, that's just the way speedway goes. He scores a maximum, and still some slate him. What more could you have asked? I think it's pretty twisted sitting around fingers crossed that one of our lads will fail, just so you can have a dig at him. I'm not the biggest Joe Screen fan anymore, but I'll back him as much as any other rider this week. For the record I thought his experience showed last night, and a couple of very good first turns gave us two absolutely vital wins to keep the Danes on the ropes. How bout we all put differences aside for a week, and back the boys wearing the flag. Very well done Lee, and more of the same please.

I'm half expecting Joe to step down if Mark declares himself fit. Given the choice of riders I'd go with Lee, Scott, Chris, Simon and Mark. If Mark is not fit then it's a tricky one. Joe is unlikely to score heavily out there, so do you ask David to step in. He hasn't got much racing under his belt recently, so that's a tough ask. Whichever way it goes I would have the other four from yesterday plus A. N. Other. It's going to be very hard in the final and, although I'm trying to be optimistic, I have to admit I'll be satisfied with a rostrum place for our boys. Good on ya so far, and good luck for Saturday.

The weather will dry out over the weekend. The risk to the match is virtually zero(never say never) Click here for the Beeb 5-day, or check any other weather forecast for confirmation.

I was playing devils advocate more than anything Andy. As I said at the end of my post they're both great riders, although I didn't see Ivan. Nothing should detract from their achievements.

Just to argue the point for a minute. In the last ten years Hans was the best rider in '95, Billy in '96, and Greg in '97. After that Tony became the dominant force, challenged first by Gollob, and then Crump came along to finaly nick one. I agree that Loram and Pedersen 'stole' one in a sense. Loram more so than Pedersen. He didn't win a round, and I think the unfair exclusion Billy got when knocked off by Jimmy Nilsen in Sweden (?) cost him the World championship that year. Pedersen won because he held his nerve, Crump had a bit of a flap on and cracked under the pressure. You could say Crump is a better rider overall, but Pedersen truely deserved to win it. Is that really true? Could it not be that in the 60's to 80's no one rider was good enough to dominate in the way that Tony is doing now, and in the late 90's? Could it not be that the riders were more evenly matched back then? Is it possible that Tony is the greatest rider because he can totally dominate? You certainly can't say that there's been no competition for him. He won his first title after overtaking Hans in the run-off. He took on Greg and Billy at the height of their careers, and lost a couple to my personal delight , he has taken on riders of the calibre of Gollob, Adams, Sullivan/Dryml (when they were in with a shot), Crump, Pedersen, Nilsen, Knudsen. As well as all those top riders there are the likes of Loram, Nicholls, Jonsson, and the new breed of Andersen, B. Pedersen, Hampel, and the list goes on of riders who have the ability to knock him out in the semis. The point is that there is stiff competition from very, very good riders but Tony makes them look average. Personally I'm with the majority who say you can't make a fair comparison. Both riders are truely brilliant, and deserve praise for their achievements.

Latest odds from William Hill. T Rickardsson ( Swe ) 13/8 J Crump ( Aus ) 7/2 Nicki Pedersen ( Den ) 7/1 L Adams ( Aus ) 7/1 T Gollob ( Pol ) 12/1 G Hancock ( Usa ) 16/1 J Hampel ( Pol ) 20/1 H Andersen ( Den ) 20/1 A Lindback ( Swe ) 20/1 S Nicholls ( Gbr ) 25/1 Bjarne Pedersen ( Den ) 25/1 A Jonsson ( Swe ) 25/1 R Sullivan ( Aus ) 33/1 Ales Dryml ( Cze ) 33/1 L Richardson ( Gbr ) 50/1 T Chrzanowski ( Pol ) 100/1 I fancy only Gollob, Crump or Jonsson has the speed to challenge TRick.

If you use taxis always agree a price first. Never get out before the driver if there's a dispute over payment. Taxis have been known to drive off with your luggage as payment. I kid you not.

Barbie - So pink very much the theme abroad as well then. Torture - If nothing else you might get some ideas on how to deal with people who 'P' you off. The one with the lumberjack's saw is particularly gruesome. (insert watery eyes smiley)

Have noticed in several countries that they wait for the green light before crossing a road, even if there's no traffic in sight. Can't imagine why so many pedestrians get knocked down here by comparision, can you? I didn't have to sign my travel ticket, but that was 3 years ago. You must have it with you, and have it validated when you travel. Plain clothes security staff may ask for it at random. If a guy flashes metal disk type badge at you, then it's probably to check your ticket. I was told to carry a copy of my passport, in case the Police wanted to know who you were. Never needed to show it, but it's a usefull tip. (just in case) Hang out down the Old Town Square for a good atmos amongst loads of nationalities. Good tip if you're on a budget. Rather than pay the bars priced for booze, you can but it from the huts/stalls and sit around in the Old Town Square. It's half the price, or maybe less, to sit in the same place. It's a no-brainer if you want to save money. Also check out the torture museum just off the Old Town Square. Maybe I've mental issues that need urgent attention, but I found it interesting.

Following taken from William Hill website. Speedway : Denmark Grand Prix - Outright Bet Until : 18:15 25/06/2005 T Rickardsson ( Swe ) 6/4 J Crump ( Aus ) 7/2 Nicki Pedersen ( Den ) 11/2 L Adams ( Aus ) 7/1 G Hancock ( Usa ) 14/1 H Andersen ( Den ) 16/1 J Hampel ( Pol ) 20/1 Bjarne Pedersen ( Den ) 20/1 T Gollob ( Pol ) 25/1 S Nicholls ( Gbr ) 25/1 A Lindback ( Swe ) 25/1 R Sullivan ( Aus ) 33/1 A Jonsson ( Swe ) 33/1 N K-iversen ( Den ) 50/1 L Richardson ( Gbr ) 50/1 T Chrzanowski ( Pol ) 100/1 The weather looks fair, and an escape from the heat if you've been struggling. BBC weather Scott and AJ are surely on the verge of a result. Nicki and Jason to make the final with them. The gate positions will decie the winner.

Well I'm not going so it can rain on you. So far this month has been pretty close to the long term average. Up to yesterday the temperature is .1c above average, rainfall is at 89%, and sunshine is at 94%. So with that in mind it's reasonable to expect average conditions over England and Wales. 11th June has an average daily maximum of 18c in Cardiff. The following are a handfull of online forecasts for tomorrow. BBC - Sunny intervals, 19c MetO - Sunny intervals, 20c AccuWeather - Sunny intervals, 17c Weather.com - Mostly sunny, 20c TWO - Sunny intervals, 16c (they predict the weekends northerly to set in, and therefore temps to be lower) Metcheck - site update, should be available at 15.00 The average temperature from the five listed is 18.4c. My personal opinion is that the day will start sunny, but may cloud over from the north and east during the day. If the cloud drifts in around lunch time the temperature could be held back to 17c/18c, if the sun stays out through the afternoon then 20c is quite possible. It will stay dry either way, with light winds.

Get the bus from the city centre, near the castle. Sorry can't remember the bus number, but ask around and someone will point you in the right direction. Get chips from Harry's, and an ice cream from the place that's on a short 'pier'.

Just park in the street by the football stadium, it's free. If you go into the city from the west rather than turning off as soon as you see a Cardiff sign you can avoid the worst of the traffic. Also if you're going straight home after, go out that way or you will end up queueing for an hour to get out of the city centre. Going out initially to the west you jump striaght on the main roads, and sail past all the poor sods still trying to get anywhere near a motorway. The park & ride is fine, but you might as well walk. By the time you've waited for a bus, it's loaded up, and then got into the centre you could be there. Especially after the meeting there are hundreds trying to get on the buses, although it's well organised. It's only a 15 minute stroll to walk it. I've done this the last couple of years and it's been a breeze.

...although I've been let down again over something else. It's only someone I've known for over 10 years. Sometimes I wish I were a naturally vindictive person. Rico - I think she's referring to something else. It's looks like she doesn't believe me about it.

Long story short. At the time I was ready to book tickets I was going with several people. Each and every one then dropped out, so I thought stuff it then because I didn't fancy going in my own. One of my mates then invited me round to watch it with them, and I accepted. As time has gone on I've got to know more forum members so I wouldn't have minded travelling down, and meeting up. Wouldn't be fair for me to cancel on them so...

Apart from wanting the Brits to go well, I think they will. I can see all three making the semi's along with Nicki, Greg, Hans, AJ, Tony. I think Jason and Leigh could miss out because the Brits will be lifted by the home crowd to give just that little bit extra that's been missing, the track will suit Greg's style, the Danes go well at Monmore which is almost an identical size/shape and being slick will suit their generally quick gating, AJ is flying and must translate that into a GP result of note soon, and Tony is a step ahead of everybody so far. Odds On - Tony has won there, although I agree it's not his fave track.

I'm sitting round a mate's house watching on tv. Oh well, can get tipsy and it's only a couple of miles to crawl home.

I think the graphics are fine, the helmets showing who's in which position after each lap was a clever idea. The sound effects are incredibly annoying. I'm trying to just ignore them, but they do catch your attention.

I'd say Jason is fave, with Scott and AJ good outsiders on current form. Taken from William Hill website... T Rickardsson ( Swe ) 5/2 J Crump ( Aus ) 11/4 L Adams ( Aus ) 11/2 Nicki Pedersen ( Den ) 6/1 T Gollob ( Pol ) 16/1 H Andersen ( Den ) 16/1 G Hancock ( Usa ) 16/1 A Lindback ( Swe ) 20/1 K Bjerre ( Den ) 20/1 S Nicholls ( Gbr ) 25/1 R Sullivan ( Aus ) 25/1 M Zagar ( Slv ) 25/1 Bjarne Pedersen ( Den ) 25/1 A Jonsson ( Swe ) 25/1 L Richardson ( Gbr ) 40/1 T Chrzanowski ( Pol ) 125/1

It's not so much the format as the scoring system that is a problem. See my post about 4/5 posts above for my idea of the best way to find the best rider of the year.

Having had more time to reflect I like the system much more then previous seasons, but not convinced the scoring is right. Looks a two horse race already.

Just to follow up on the language thing. I have to say that Brits picking at foreigners use of the English language embarrasses me. I've been to eight different countries in Europe. In most the standard of English spoken was good. I gave up German after one year, and was able to get by when I went there (and I failed French). I was able to find someone who spoke English when I needed directions in Czecho, a lot seem to speak German as a second language, but again there was always someone around who spoke very understandable English. In Greece and Turkey I was in tourist areas so their English was good, French spoken in Turkey too. I was in my teens when I went to France and Spain so don't remember there as well, but can't remember there being any problem. In Sweden and Denmark the standard of English spoken by the huge majority is excellent. In both countries there was only one person who didn't understand English when I asked for directions. (I was also crap at geography so this happened a lot) That's a pretty wide spread area, and how many of those languages can any of us speak. I understand that in Scandinavia English language TV programmes are shown with subtitles rather than being dubbed. This undoubtedly helps them learn English, but also means they will repeat what they hear. If you listen to Swedes or Danes (sorry, haven't been to Norway) you will notice that compared to other foreigners they do pick up slang, and even British regional accents. When I asked people out there if they spoke English the answer was invariably 'yea, of course', as if I was asking a stupid question. As for AJ swearing...well quick, alert the church elders!!! Is it really that important? Nicki is an out-and-out racer. I thought his interview summed it up very well. It's a world championship event, not a Sunday drive to Tescos. Jason created a gap by diving through on Bjarne, strange nobody seems to have mentioned that Jason unsettled Bjarne when he touched him first. There was a massive gap, and although Nicki came from a long way back I seriously doubt there are any riders who wouldn't have gone for it. The reason, not speculation, the reason that Nicki hit Bjarne was that the inside on the track was very slick by the end. Nicki clearly had the bike locked up trying to get passed without making contact. Unfortunately for all concerned he just skated accross the slick. Bjarne knew he was coming and if he'd had any sense he would've just allowed Nicki through, and turned back under him as Nicki went wide. Similar to what happened earlier when Jason turned back under Scott as he carried to much speed. As Nicki himself admitted it was correct to exclude him, butthat doesn't mean he did it on purpose. In Nickis eyes he could still have won the race so why would he want to get himself excluded. Some of the posts on here are clearly made by people who've jumped on the 'I hate Nicki bandwagon' and made no sense. If you race against Nicki you have to accept that he will race hard form tapes to flag. If you leave a gap he will go for it. No ifs, buts, or maybes he is going to go for it. You then have two choices. You can either get out of his way, or you can try to close him down. If you chose the later you will probably score more points than him in the re-run when he is excluded. Sorry if anyone doesn't like it, but it is simply as black and white as that. I see nobody mentioned Scotts block pass on Jason. Pretty hard move, but Jasons brain worked fasted that some of those who get in Nickis way. When Scott clattered Nicki in a GP a while back everybody said he was just going hard for a gap Nicki left. Double standards people. As for the rest AJ was unlucky with his exclusion but crap otherwise, Lindback was very lucky on the same race, Bjarne rode well all night, Leigh blew it in the semi again (how many semis has he stuffed up), Scott rode really well but as ever couldn't get out the start, and was obviously devastated at the end, TRick was unlucky as he surely had the final stitched up, Lee is obviously struggling for speed but I thought he did okay considering his current problems, Nicki was very quick and looks a good outside bet to challenge TRick and Jason. The track was great once a bit of a dirt line appeared on the outside. The best GP for years with close racing early on, and then the number of passes later on in the meeting. The final was great with all of them leading at some point. My fingers are tired now...

First reserve is the fairest way, but it would be nice to have a replacement from the home country or same nationality as the missing rider.

I've been looking at these this morning. Nicki is a great bet, Scott has to improve (hopefully), and I quite fancy Leigh at 11/2. Now Leigh has sorted his starts out again, he'll should be right up there again.

Thanks for the info. I wonder if the bookies will realise, or still list him.